Triple Berry Bread Pudding

I was never a fan of bread pudding as a child growing up in Springfield, Louisiana. My mom used to make it when our loaf of white Holsum sandwich bread got stale. I just thought she was re-purposing old bread and I didn’t like the taste or the custard texture either.

Many years later, I had bread pudding for the first time in a restaurant in Baton Rouge. The featured dessert was bread pudding with a whiskey sauce. I was still not a fan, but it was very good.

Beryl’s Homemade Cajun Seasoning (Salt-Free)

Everybody knows that good Cajun food is “highly seasoned”, or “spicy”, but do you know what “highly seasoned” and “spicy” really mean? Most people think that “spicy” means “hot” – as in lots of red pepper or like a jalapeno pepper. Not so fast…

In Cajun and Creole cooking, “highly seasoned” and “spicy” means we use lots of seasonings (spices) to add lots of flavor to our dishes. They are not necessarily “hot with pepper”.

As you go through our recipes, you’ll notice that many (if not most) call for Cajun Seasoning, or “Tony’s”.

Creamy Potato Soup Recipe

Creamy Potato Soup, or Cream of Potato Soup, or what I call just your basic potato soup, is an all-time favorite soup that you can jazz up in all sorts of ways – by simply adding whatever may suit your fancy…

Bacon, crab meat, shrimp, cheese, and just about anything can be added to your potato soup to make a wonderful meal.

In this recipe, we added fresh crab meat and topped it with grated cheddar cheese.

Eggplant Pasta Bake

Eggplant Pasta Bake

Eggplant Pasta Bake is a simple recipe (concoction) that I put together after ordering a similar appetizer every time in my favorite little Italian restaurant in Corstorphine, Edinburgh. After work, it’s right on the main road into town and has a small car park; always a plus.

Snowball Cookies with Pecans are one of my favorite cookies that my Mom makes every Christmas.

Snowball Cookies with Pecans

With the holidays nearing, it put me in the mood for baking. Mom shared her Snowball Cookie recipe with me and it is so easy to make. With just a few simple ingredients and we’ll show you How to Make Snowball Cookies.

Snowball Cookies with Pecans are a great gift giving item for a holiday cookie swap or place in a Christmas tin or decorative container for a treat for your friends, family, or neighbors.

Snowball Cookies Make a Great Holiday Gift

I bought several of the holiday decorative Chinese-style take-out boxes and filling with Snowball Cookies and Fudge for my co-workers. If you love cookies with Pecans, these cookies will be a real treat for you too!

Takee-Outee Gift Boxes

I’ve made these 4 times now and yielded 48 – 50 cookies each time.

For gifts, I’ve placed 6 Snowball Cookies in the decorative take-out containers with 6 squares of homemade fudge separated with a small piece of wax paper. Make a great gift!

How to Make Homemade Lemonade

How to Make Lemonade

We’re getting back to basics so let me show you how to make Homemade Lemonade using real lemons and adding a twist of oranges or Satsumas (tangerines).

Whether it’s hot or cold outside, a recipe for homemade lemonade is fast, easy, and so delicious. On a recent family gathering, we made two containers of homemade lemonade with real lemons to bring for drinks instead of the typical sodas. We try to avoid or steer away from heavily processed foods and drinks as much as possible. Homemade lemonade is a great natural alternative and you know it’s 100% real juice.

As with most family gatherings, there is always the usual cooler full of sodas and those sugary drinks for kids in pouches or boxes. I am not a fan of either. So this time, we decided to bring something that we liked to drink. We made a one gallon recipe of homemade lemonade using fresh lemons from my Mom’s gigantic lemon tree. Some of these lemons were like the size of a naval orange.

Cajun Cooking Is Fun!

After squeezing about two dozen lemons, we had 2 quarts of just straight lemon juice. We filled 8 ice cube trays with the juice. Once frozen, we cracked the lemon juice cubes and placed in Ziploc freezer
bags to use as we needed. We’ll probably use 4-6 cubes when we want some fresh made lemonade.

For the Homemade Lemonade Recipe with real lemons video featured below, we used lemons, lime, and an orange. For Thanksgiving, we used my Mom’s lemons and squeezed two Satsumas (called tangerines in other parts of the country outside of Louisiana).

We thought we would come home with at least one of the containers we brought to my Dad’s. But, nope my homemade lemonade was a super hit and no one drank the sodas. How refreshing!

Ingredients to Make a 2 Quart Pitcher of Homemade Lemonade

4 cups water heated in the microwave or on the stove (boiling not necessary)
4 cups cold water
1/2 cup to 1 full cup sugar (we use the brown unrefined sugar)
4-6 lemons (use Meyer lemons if you can find them – they are the best!)
1 Orange or 2 Satumas (Satumas = Tangerines) (Minneola Tangelos are the best!)

Meyer Lemons are the best!

Stuff Needed to Make the Lemonade

2 quart pitcher
Long spoon for stirring
Citrus juicer (we have two manual types: one with glass container and plastic juicing cone and a metal juicer that squeezes the juice out of the lemon half)
Sharp paring knife
Cutting board
Large measuring cup

Minneola Tangelos are the best!

Steps to Make Homemade Lemonade

Heat 4 cups water in a microwave safe container for 3 minutes. Or heat on the stove.

(Actually, hot tap water will do, in my opinion – Mike.)

Carefully remove and stir in sugar to dissolve fully. (This is called simple syrup.) Set aside.

Using the cutting board and paring knife cut the fruit in half by placing the fruit on its side; (meaning the stem part should be pointed to the side.) Cut in half. Remove any easy to reach seeds with the tip
of the knife or a fork.

Using the citrus juicer, place a lemon half on the juicing cone. Apply pressure to press down; then turn and turn until all the juice flesh is opened up.

Lemon Squeezer

If you have a lemon squeezer, open the gadget and place lemon flesh facing down in the part that has the holes or a screen to catch the seeds. Over a bowl or large measuring cup, slowly squeeze the two
handles together as tight as you can. Be sure to aim the holes down to prevent juice from squirting everywhere. Lemon will be turned inside out.

Repeat for oranges or tangerines to add a natural sweet taste.

Pour the citrus juice into the pitcher. Add the simple sugar syrup and stir well. Fill pitcher with cold water. Taste Test for desired sweetness. We really use about 1/2 cup – 3/4 cup sugar, because we don’t like it too sweet.

Pour your Homemade Lemonade over tall iced glasses and garnish with a slice of lemon or orange.